School Food Standards: The big changes to school dinners coming to Sheffield

School dinners are set to become healthier under new government guidelines stating fried foods and chocolate will no longer be served

The changes were announced this week by the Department for Education and follows the news that all children in England whose families receive Universal Credit can access free school meals.

It focuses on improving the nutritional quality of meals by increasing the amount of fruit, vegetables and fibre, and reducing foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Chef Jamie Oliver, backs these plans, and said: “Back 20+ years ago when I started School Dinners I could not believe that we had standards for dog food but not what we serve our children at school!

“And I’ve never stopped banging that drum. Because it’s massive - 190 days of the year 70% of our kids’ nutrition is in the hands of their school. So, it’s got to be great. It’s got to fill them up with all the good stuff they need to learn and grow.”

The chef has a history of campaigning in South Yorkshire, when he set up the ‘Ministry of Food’ centre in All Saints Square, Rotherham, offering cooking courses to the community.

Back in 2006, parents protested against his healthy school dinners campaign, which ran nationally famously passing fast food through railings at Rawmarsh Community School.

Two years later, in 2008, he set up the ‘Ministry of Food’ campaign, which was a TV documentary series designed to teach cooking skills and promote fresh and healthy meals.

Adding support for the new plans, he said: “It’s brilliant to see new School Food Standards based on the latest science, to make sure the food children get at school is actually supporting their health and helping them thrive.

“And, those standards won’t just live on paper, but have proper monitoring to make sure they’re followed, so we know where we need to deploy care, love and support. Sure, there’s always more to do, but after 25 years of campaigning, today is a brilliant day.”

The new standards will apply to all food served in both primary and secondary schools, including both breakfast and lunch.

Here are the main changes that will affect your child’s school dinners.

Starchy Foods

Under the new guidelines, schools must include:

• one or more portions of food from this group every day
• three or more different starchy foods each week
• one or more wholegrain varieties of starchy food each week
• starchy food cooked in fat or oil no more than two days each week (applies across the whole school day)
• bread – with no added fat or oil – must be available every day

The guidelines state schools can:

• use wholegrain varieties of starchy foods
• try using a 50/50 mix for pasta and rice
• use at least half wholemeal or granary flour when making bread, puddings, cakes, biscuits, batters and sauces
• use different types of bread and look for products with higher fibre

Fruit and Vegetables

The Department for Education want to introduce healthy eating habits, and say fruit and vegetables are a good source of essential minerals and vitamins.

Under the new rules, schools must include:

• one or more portions of vegetables or salad as an accompaniment every day
• one or more portions of fruit every day
• a dessert containing at least 50 per cent fruit twice or more days each week
• at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week

To help meet these guidelines, schools can:

• make sure your meal deals always contain at least one portion of vegetables and one portion of fruit
• provide at least two different coloured vegetables and fruits each day
• buy fruit and vegetables that are in season
• choose canned products in water or natural juice, with no added salt or sugar
• steam vegetables or boil them in a minimal amount of water
• display fruit and vegetables prominently and attractively
• talk to the children to encourage them to try new vegetable and fruit dishes – using produce from the school garden is a great way to encourage children to try new vegetables and fruit
• price a portion of fruit so that it is cheaper than a dessert
• add lots of vegetables into composite dishes such as Bolognese or chilli con carne

The DFE also stated schools should not serve baked beans more than once a week and choose low-sugar and low-salt varieties.

Milk and Dairy

The new regulations state schools must include:

• a portion of food from this group every day
• lower fat milk, which must be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours

It states schools can:

• offer frozen yoghurt as an alternative to ice cream
• buy low-sugar varieties of milkshakes and yoghurt drinks. You could make them yourself using fruit to sweeten them

Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein

Under the new regulations, they provide guidance that says foods from this group provide protein and essential minerals, including iron and zinc.

Schools must include:

• a portion of food from this group every day
• a portion of meat or poultry on 3 or more days each week
• oily fish once or more every 3 weeks
• a portion of non-dairy protein on 3 or more days each week
• a meat or poultry product (manufactured or homemade, and meeting the legal requirements) no more than once each week in primary schools and twice each week in secondary schools (applies across the whole school day)

Schools can:

• ensure vegetarian meals are as varied as the rest of the menu by using pulses twice a week, soya, tofu, or mycoprotein-based meat substitute once or twice each week, and eggs and cheese once or twice each week
• encourage all children to have a meat-free day each week, using alternatives such as pulses, soya mince, tofu and mycoprotein-based meat substitute
• visit the Marine Stewardship Council for advice on buying responsibly sourced fish

They advise canned tuna is not an oily fish, as the omega-3 fatty acids are destroyed in the canning process.

Foods high in fat, sugar and salt

Strict restrictions are in place for foods seen as unhealthy. The DFE state that too much salt can encourage a taste for salty foods, potentially leading to high blood pressure in later life and high sugar intake provides unnecessary calories and can lead to weight gain and tooth decay.

The guidelines state schools must include:

• no more than two portions of food that have been deep-fried, batter-coated or breadcrumb-coated, each week
• no more than two portions of food that include pastry each week

Schools must not serve:

• snacks, except nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit with no added salt, sugar or fat
• confectionery, chocolate or chocolate-coated products
• salt to add to food after it has been cooked

These rules apply throughout the whole school day, and any condiments must be limited to sachets or portions of no more than 10g or one teaspoonful.

They advise that schools can:

• serve savoury crackers or breadsticks at lunch with fruit, vegetables or dairy food
• choose mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, such as rapeseed, soya, sunflower and olive oils, wherever possible for cooking or salad dressings
• avoid products that list partially hydrogenated fat or oil on the label
• use higher fibre ingredients, such as wholemeal flour, in addition to, or instead of, white flour
• reduce the amount of sugar used in dishes
• use fresh or dried fruit to sweeten dishes
• ask suppliers for nutritional information and read food labels to check the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars in their products
• use herbs, spices, garlic, vegetables and fruits, instead of salt, to add flavour to dishes
• choose biscuits, cakes and pastries that are lower in fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt

Flavour enhancers such as MSG or E621 are also banned.

Healthy Drinks

They stated “water should be the default” for all children, and that sugary or sweetened drinks often have no nutritional value.

The only drinks permitted are:

• plain water (still or carbonated)
• lower fat milk or lactose reduced milk
• fruit or vegetable juice (maximum 150ml)
• plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium
• plain fermented milk (for example, yoghurt) drinks
• combinations of fruit or vegetable juice with plain water (still or carbonated, with no added sugars or honey)
• combinations of fruit juice and lower fat milk or plain yoghurt, plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium; cocoa and lower fat milk; flavoured lower fat milk, all with less than 5% added sugars or honey
• tea, coffee, hot chocolate

Combination drinks are limited to a portion size of 330ml. They may contain added vitamins or minerals, and no more than 150ml of fruit or vegetable juice.

Fruit or vegetable juice combination drinks must be at least 45 per cent fruit or vegetable juice.

Schools can:

• provide jugs of fresh tap water together with cups or glasses on tables and at the serving counter
• consider installing a water cooler that uses tap water, or water fountains in the dining room and around the school, encouraging the use of refillable bottles
• provide drinks that are unsweetened, unfortified and additive-free
• avoid drinks containing preservatives, flavourings, colourings and sweeteners

The new guidelines are expected to come into force from September 2027.

• RELATED: Teenager's £5k wheelchair appeal after NHS funding runs out
• RELATED: NHS announces action plan after children risk lives in burnt-out building
• RELATED: Sheffield mum and daughter star in Boots campaign after cancer journey (aff)